Storage cabinet



Filed Aug. 26, 1960- March 5, 1963 L. A. GRAHAM STORAGE CABINET I 2 sheets -sheet- 1 2 l I|I 11 1 I LU 28 $51:- 24 2 :i 2 o Jim mm mm .WM 32 50 I INVENTOR. LOLHS A.GRAHAM ATTORNEY March 5, 1963 1.. A. GRAHAM 3,080,203

STORAGE CABINET Filed Aug. 26, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 azarasrwgvaga 36 5o L- SQ 26 'lb 3g '24 34 l J I u I 1/ INVENTOR.

UL 2 1- 2 Lows AJGRAHAM 28d 30 Bari Z A-rroanev Hire States tent 3,080,203- Patented Mar. 5, 1963 3,080,203 STORAGE CABINET Louis A. Graham, Naples, Fla. Graham Transmissions Inc., Menomonee Falls, Wis.) Filed Aug. 26, 1960, Ser. No. 52,074 4 Claims. Cl. 312-40) This invention relates to file or storage cabinets, particularly of the type used for storing records or correspondence in an upright or vertical position.

Storage of records and correspondence in the average home has always been a problem because there is usually no place equipped to handle such items. Records are preferably stored in a vertical position for easy accessibili-ty but are subject to warpage if they are allowed to tilt substantially in the cabinet. Regular filing cabinets are undesirable in the home since they lack aesthetic beauty and are too expensive for the average householder. Even the specially designed record holders which fit on shelves lack aesthetic beauty and fairly limited in utility.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a filing cabinet for records and correspondence files which lends itself to any furniture styling as a builtin unit or as a separate item which can be assembled at low cost, using commonly available materials.

Another object is to provide in connection with such a cabinet, divider means for segregating the contents and keeping the contents substantially vertical.

Another object is to provide a single index arrangement for such a cabinet.

Other objects and advantages Will be pointed out in, or be apparent from, the specification and claims, as will obvious modifications of the single embodiment shown in the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the present invention partly broken away to show the pegboard arrangement.

FIG. 2 is taken on line 22 of FIG. 1 showing the central pegboard arrangement.

FIG. 3 is taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1 showing the position of the pegs in the cabinet.

FIG. 4 shows the locking action between the peg and the board.

FIG. 5 shows an indicator useable in the present arrangement.

FIG. 6 shows a modified peg having a central aperture and a longitudinal slot.

Referring to the drawings, a cabinet having a top panel 10 and side panels 12 is shown mounted on base 14. The back is closed by panel 16 and doors (not shown) may be hinged to the side panels to enclose the front of the cabinet if desired. This structure is conventional and is used only to illustrate how the present invention can be readily adapted to such structures as generally found in the home.

The inside of the cabinet is modified to hold records or files by mounting a number of pegboards 20 at various heights within the cabinet. The boards are arranged in pairs with holes 24 in one board aligned with the holes in the other board. The interior of the cabinet is divided into an upper compartment 26 and a lower compartment 28 with one pair of pegboards at the top and one pair of pegboards at the bottom of each compartment. Each compartment can be made to any desired height with eleven and thirteen inches being sufficient to accommodate conventional ten and twelve inch records, respectively.

The records or files are maintained in a vertical position by pegs 30 made from wood or nylon which are pressed into the holes in the pegboard. The boards are mounted in pairs in grooves 32 or on furring secured to the walls of the cabinet at the top and bottom of each compartment with a space between each pair of boards to provide a cantilever type support for the pegs. When two compartments are to be set up (as shown in the drawing), the bottom pair of boards of the upper compartment are separated from the upper pair of boards of the lower compartment so that the pegs which are inserted from the top compartment will not engage the ends of the pegs in the lower compartment and vice versa.

The pegs have a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the holes 24 and are slotted at 36 to provide a press fit when inserted in the hole-s. Alternatively, cylindrical tubes 40 (FIG. 6) which are slotted longitudinally to allow a slight flexure when inserted in the holes 24 may be used. It can be seen that utilizing a peg on either side of a record or group of records in the front and back of both the bottom and top of a compartment, the record will be positively held in a vertical position. Since the pegs are only pressed into the holes, they can be readily changed any time the number of records or files in a particular space within the cabinet is varied. The large number of holes which are available in the pegboards also makes it possible to adjust the pegs to any depth in the compartment.

An indexing block 50 (FIG. 5) for identifying the contents of the various spaces in the cabinet is mounted on peg 52 having slots 54 at both ends. This block may be placed in the cabinet in any convenient location to indicate the subject matter filed in the space beneath the block. The peg does not have to extend into the second board because the block is not subject to any transverse forces. Since there is approximately one inch of space provided between the tops of the records and the top of the particular portion of the cabinet, the block will not interfere with the storage or removal of the records.

Although but a single embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A filing cabinet comprising, a first pair of panels supported in spaced parallel relation, said first pair of panels having a plurality of holes in axial alignment, at second pair of panels supported in spaced parallel relation, said second pair of panels having a plurality of holes in axial alignment, cabinet means having a top, a bottom, a back and side members for enclosing and supporting the first and second pairs of panels in spaced relation to form a storage space between the pairs of panels with the axially aligned holes of each pair of panels axially aligned with a corresponding pair of axially aligned holes in the other pair of panels, and a number of relatively short, slotted pegs of resilient material inserted in the axially aligned holes of each pair of panels to project into the storage space from the panels in parallel vertical planes to form vertically aligned slots for the storage of records or files.

2. A filing cabinet according to claim 1 including indexing means having identification block-s mounted on short resilient slotted pegs, said pegs being inserted into and frictionally supported in the front row of axially aligned slots in the upper pair of panels to identify the subject matter in the slots defined by the short, slotted pegs behind the indexing means.

3. A filing cabinet comprising, a first, second, third, and fourth pair of panels, each of said pairs of panels being supported in spaced parallel relation and having a number of symmetricaly disposed axially aligned holes therein, cabinet means for enclosing and supporting said panels, said first and second pairs of panels being supported in parallel relation by said cabinet means to form an upper storage space, said third and fourth pairs of panels being supponted by said cabinet means in parallel relation to each other and to the first and second pairs of panels to form a lower cabinet space, a number of resilient slotted pegs inserted in the axially aligned holes, said pegs depending downward from the first and third pairs of panels and upward from the second and fourth pairs of panels to form vertical slots of varying width between the first and second, and third and fourth pairs of panels, said second and third pairs of panels being positioned adjacent to and spaced from each other to allow clearance or the ends of the pegs projecting through the panels.

4. A filing cabinet according to claim 3 including indexing means having identification blocks mounted on short slotted pegs, said pegs being inserted into and frictionally supported in the front row of axially aligned holes in the upper pair of panels in each compartment to identify the subject matter in the slot behind the indexing means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 805,604 Wedge Nov. 28, 1905 863,961 Alexander Aug. 20, 1907 2,093,341 Reiche Sept. 14, 1937 2,539,276 Schmeling Jan. 23, 1951 2,760,647 Saul Aug. 28, 1956 2,812,225 Traxler Nov. 5, 1957 2,843,970 Keu=ls July 22, 1958 2,967,078 Stillman Jan. 3, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,121,677 France Aug. 23, 1956 

1. A FILING CABINET COMPRISING, A FIRST PAIR OF PANELS SUPPORTED IN SPACED PARALLEL RELATION, SAID FIRST PAIR OF PANELS HAVING A PLURALITY OF HOLES IN AXIAL ALIGNMENT, A SECOND PAIR OF PANELS SUPPORTED IN SPACED PARALLEL RELATION, SAID SECOND PAIR OF PANELS HAVING A PLURALITY OF HOLES IN AXIAL ALIGNMENT, CABINET MEANS HAVING A TOP, A BOTTOM, A BACK AND SIDE MEMBERS FOR ENCLOSING AND SUPPORTING THE FIRST AND SECOND PAIRS OF PANELS IN SPACED RELATION TO FORM A STORAGE SPACE BETWEEN THE PAIRS OF PANELS WITH THE AXIALLY ALIGNED HOLES OF EACH PAIR OF PANELS AXIALLY ALIGNED WITH A CORRESPONDING PAIR OF AXIALLY ALIGNED HOLES IN THE OTHER PAIR OF PANELS, AND A NUMBER OF RELATIVELY SHORT, SLOTTED PEGS OF RESILIENT MATERIAL INSERTED IN THE AXIALLY ALIGNED HOLES OF EACH PAIR OF PANELS TO PROJECT INTO THE STORAGE SPACE FROM THE PANELS IN PARALLEL VERTICAL PLANES TO FORM VERTICALLY ALIGNED SLOTS FOR THE STORAGE OF RECORDS OR FILES. 